Baby stair trainer



Feb. 3,1959

E. TIMONEY BABY STAIR TRAINER Filed July 8, 1957 FIG. 4

INVENTOR. ROBERT E. TIMONEY United States Patent BABY STAIR TRAINERRobert E. Timoney, Long Island City, N. Y.

Application July 8, 1957, Serial No. 670,449

3 Claims. (Cl. 155-22) Generally speaking, the present invention relatesto the baby training art and, more particularly, relates to an improvedbaby stair trainer cooperable for teaching babies to climb and descend aseries of stairs safely.

One of the diflicult things a baby must learn is to safely climb anddescend stairs. Normally, this is generally a hit or miss propositionwith the baby learning by trial and error without the benefit of anycompetent instructions or safety devices. Frequently, many seriousaccidents occur because the child has not become familiar with thetechnique of ascending and descending stairs. Virtually the only way toteach a child to climb and descend stairs, known to applicant, is thepersonal teaching of the parent instructing the child. This is notadvantageous since the parent does not usually take very much time toreally instruct the child in a competent manner and, in the lastanalysis, the child must teach himself.

Applicants invention was developed primarily to overcome theaforementioned problems and, generally speaking, can be said to consistof a portable longitudinal walkway having a plurality of stairs at theends thereof. I

A duplex of spaced elevated rail means are attached adjacent thelongitudinal borders of the portable walkway. A duplex of strap meansslidably mount an adjustable belt with respect to the rail means. Stopmeans are provided on the rail means to limit the slidable travel of thebelt and straps. The adjustable belt loosely surrounds the waist of thechild, whereby the baby may turn completely around therein withoutdisengaging the belt from his waist.

From the above description of basic and generic forms of the presentinvention, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art thatvirtually all of the hereinbefore mentioned prior art problems and/ordisadvantages are substantially entirely eliminated, met and/ orovercome in and through use of the present invention.

For example, it is obvious that the belt may be rapidly and easily putaround the waist of the child, and that, when positioned therearonnd, itis safely, yet loosely, positioned with respect to the child in a mannerwhich virtually completely eliminates the likelihood that the child willslip out or fall down.

With the above points in mind, it is an object of the present inventionto provide a portable stair trainer which will safely and easily teach asmall child to climb and descend stairs.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a baby stairtrainer which will be a source of pleasure and exercise to children.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a device ofthe character set forth in the preceding objects, which is inexpensive,simple, easy to use and of virtually foolproof and safe construction.

Other and allied objects will be apparent to those skilled in the artafter a careful perusal, examination and study of the accompanyingillustrations, the present specification, and the appended claims.

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Fig. 1 is a top plan view of one illustrative embodiment of the presentinvention, without the belt or. the straps slidably attached withrespect to the rails;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the illustrative embodiment shown inFig. 1, and showing the slidable mounting of the belt and the strapmeans;

Fig. 3 is a front elevational view of the illustrative embodiment shownin Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal elevational view of the illustrative embodimentshown in Figs. 1 and 3; and

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary perspective view of the adjustable belt and thestrap means, asshown in Fig. 2.

Generally speaking the baby stair trainer, indicated generally at 6 inFigs. 1-4, includes a longitudinal portable walkway 7 having a pluralityof stairs 8 at the ends thereof. The walkway 7 is mounted to the base 9.In the particular example illustrated in Figs. 1-4, the walkway 7 is anintegral piece and has only three stairs 3 at each end. However, anynumber of stairs 8 may be used and the walkway 7 may be comprised ofseveral sections so as to facilitate the storage and shipping of thebaby stair trainer 6. Also the treads and the risers of the stairs 8 mayvary considerably in dimensions.

Rail means, in the particular example illustrated in Figs. 1-4, are inthe form of double rail means provided with an inner rail 10 and anouter rail 11 which are afiixed together at the junctions 12. The outerrail 11 serves as a hand rail for the child. A duplex of double railmeans are provided and are attached adjacent the ends of the portablewalkway 7 and extended therebetween adjacent the longitudinal borders ofthe portable walkway 7. Mounting brackets 13 are provided at the ends ofthe outer rails 11 whereby the rails 10 and 11 may be removably attachedwith respect to the walkway 7, as shown in Figs. 2-4. Usually themounting brackets 13 are aflixed to the lower one of the stairs 8,although this is not to be a limitation and the brackets 13 maybeattached, as, for example, to the base 9.

A belt 14 has a buckle 16 including a prong 17 whereby the prong 17 maybe inserted into the adjustment apertures 18 in order to adjustablyposition the baby therein or to release the baby. In the event that thebaby may fall, the belt 14 is designed to take hold of the baby aroundhis arm pit region.

Laterally disposed pivot pins 19 which have adjusting ringlets 20 areattached with respect to the adjustable belt 14, whereby the snaps 21 ofthe strap means 15 may be lockingly engaged therein, as best illustratedin Figs. 2 and 5. The straps 15 are slidably mounted to the inner rails10, as best shown in Fig. 2, and firmly, yet slidably, mount the belt 14with respect to the inner rails 10. A duplex of straps 15 are providedand may be made from suitable canvas, leather, or the like.

Stop means, in this particular version, are defined by the junctions 12in which the inner rail 10 and the outer rail 11 are joined, as shown inFigs. 1-3. Other stop means may be used, as, for example, cross barmembers or the like.

The stop means 12 are cooperable for limiting the slidable longitudinaltravel of the adjustable belt 14 and the strap means 15. Said stop means12 are so elevated that, if the baby should fall or stumble, he or shewill be maintained in a virtually erect position. The adjustable belt 14is cooperable for loosely surrounding the waist of a baby, whereby thebaby may turn completely around therein. Thus, the baby after ascendingand descending the stairs 8 in one direction can make a completeturnaround and climb and descend the stairs 8 in the opposite direction,whereby in a short time the baby may safely learn how to climb anddescend a series of stairs 8.

Numerous modifications and variations of the present invention willoccur to those skilled in the art after a careful study hereof. All suchproperly within the basic spirit, scope and/or teachings of the presentinvention are intended to be included and comprehended herein as fullyas if specifically described, illustrated and claimed.

For example, it is obvious that the double rail means of the presentinvention may be modified so as to be only single rail means and thatthe stop means may be modified substantially and include a cross bar orthe like. Also, the adjustable belt and the straps may be modifiedsubstantially other than as specifically described and "illustratedherein.

The exact compositions, configurations, constructions, relativepositionings, and cooperative relationships of the various componentparts of the present invention are not critical, and can be modifiedsubstantially within the spirit of the present invention.

The embodiments of the present invention specifically described andillustrated herein are exemplary only, and are not intended to limit thescope of the present invention, which is to be interpreted in the lightof the prior art and the appended claims only, with due considerationfor the doctrine of equivalents.

I claim:

1. A baby stair trainer cooperable for teaching babies to climb anddescend a series of stairs safely, comprising: a portable elongatedwalkway including a plurality of stairs joined to the ends thereof; aduplex of spaced elevated rail means attached adjacent the ends of saidwalkway and extending therebetween adjacent the longitudinal borders ofsaid portable walkway; elevated stop means affixed to said rail means ata distance from the ends thereof; an adjustable belt cooperable forsurrounding the waist of a baby, whereby the baby may turn aroundtherein; a duplex of strap means cooperable for slidably mounting saidbelt with respect to said rail means; said stop means cooperable forlimiting the slidable travel of said belt and said strap means.

2. A baby stair trainer cooperable for teaching babies to climb anddescend a series of stairs safely, comprising: an integral portableelongated walkway including a plurality of stairs joined to the endsthereof; a duplex of spaced elevated rail means removably attachedadjacent bottom stairs at each end of said walkway and extendingtherebetween adjacent the longitudinal borders of said portable walkway;elevated stop means afiixed to said rail means at a distance from theends thereof; an adjustable belt cooperable for loosely surrounding thewaist of a baby, whereby the baby may turn completely around therein; aduplex of strap means cooperable for slidably mounting said belt withrespect to said rail means; said stop means cooperable for limiting theslidable travel of said belt and said strap means.

3. A baby stair trainer cooperable for teaching babies to climb anddescend a series of stairs safely, comprising: a portable elongatedWalkway including a plurality of stairs joined to the ends thereof; aduplex of spaced elevated double rail means, including an inner rail andan outer rail; said outer rail being attached adjacent the ends of saidwalkway and extending therebetween adjacent the longitudinal borders ofsaid portable walkway; said inner rail being attached to said outer railat a distance from the ends thereof, said inner rail defining stop meansat the junctions of said inner rail and said outer rail; an adjustablebelt cooperable for loosely surrounding the waist of a baby, whereby thebaby may turn completely around therein; a duplex of strap meanscooperable for slidably mounting said belt with respect to said innerrail; said st 0p means cooperable for limiting the slidable travel ofsaid belt and said strap means.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS821,391 Wiltse May 22, 1906 1,294,300 Noel Feb. 11, 1919 1,642,184 UrsoSept. 13, 1927 2,499,773 Owens May 7, 1950 2,524,971 Gray Oct. 10, 19502,726,714 McAndrews Dec. 13, 1955 2,812,010 Abdallah Nov. 5, 1957FOREIGN PATENTS 596,738 France Aug. 14, 1925

